Out of Tune? Newsong Church in Irvine May Snap Up Santora Arts Building in Santa Ana

Faithful readers will recall the fantastic story Michelle Woo wrote about Dave Gibbons, the founder and pastor of Newsong, the Irvine-based megachurch that about seven years ago was named one of the 100 fastest-growing churches in America by Outreach Magazine.

The church may soon be singing their songs in a new building--the Santora Arts Building in downtown Santa Ana.

Voiceofoc.org has the story. The report cites Tom Greer, who said he was an accountant associated with the church, saying the sale is in escrow and could close in a few months, with Gibbons posting on Facebook that the church is paying $6.2 million for the building.

Apparently, Gibbons sees Santora as a great spot to train the next wave of "misfit leaders especially artists, business people, and community development specialists" and believes the Santa Ana Artist's Village will be a cultural hub for "influence and leadership development beyond Orange County!"

But VoiceofOC also reports that the building's owner, Mike Harrah, denied that the sale had reached escrow stage.

And then there were these quotes from Tim Rush, a member of the Santa Ana HistoricalPreservation Society's advisory board, and one who nominated Harrah for a preservation award (but apparently is ready to strip him of that distinction):

"It's absolutely wrong. I'm as mad as I've ever been."

"I just say, shame on you, Mike Harrah, that you would put at risk and destroy an architectural landmark in the city."